Molecular and biological aspects of Tospoviruses.

Most members of the Bunyaviridae infect animals but some are able to infect plants. The plant-infecting viruses, which are propagatively transmitted by thrips species, are classified into a separate genus, Tospovirus, named after the type species tomato spotted wilt virus (Francki et al., 1991). Since the late 1980s, when increased knowledge in the molecular biology of tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) allowed it to be included in the Bunyaviridae, a number of distinct tospovirus species are still being identified and classified within the same family.